Telephone accessory



April 4, 1950 Filed April 15, 1947 M. E. BUTLER TELEPHONE ACCESSORY 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 ll I Fig. 4. V57 34 36 58 4 -L-| 56 I' 52 5/ 50 2 3 36 5 i 0 23 53 I ,4}? rfi ssaa 46 271 f. l l w 4 I Inventor Marshall E. Bufler By W m,

A ril 4, 1950 2 Sheets-Shae; 2

Filed April 15, 1 947 a m m m a 8P I H m I m b 3 I I. n q. I0 I M 6 m 4 3 Z 9 3 t 4 4 I F 4 4 9 7 5 03 4 4 v x x 0 3 4 3 3 2 Marshall-E. Buflef Patented Apr. 4, 1950 TATES 2,503,095, 4

-' TELEPHONE ACCESSORY Marshall 'E. Butler, Raleigh- N "'hpplicati'on'h'pril '15, 1947': '"Sefi "INoi "711 ,479'

1 Claim.

"This inventionr'elat'es to a tel'ephone accessory and has $01: its" primary Object automatically-to disconnect a radio or like instrument when the *ree'ei'v'eris lifted from a telephone.

Another object is to enable'the user of the telephone to restore the power to a radio or like instrument at will and w-ith'out replacing the receiver on the telephone.

A further object is automatically to'illuminate the dial of a"d-ial telephone when the receiveris lifted from the-hook thereof.

The above and other objects may be attained by employing tnis inve'ntion "which embodies among its fe'a'tures abaseupon which the base of a telephone handset is'adapted to rest, illuminating means 'onone side of the-base adapted to illuminate the dial of the telephone, a control switch at the edge of the base remote from the illuminating means adapted to control the now of power to a radio in the vicinity of the tele-' phone-andmeans actuated by the lifting ofthe telephone rec'eiver an of the I telephone base to actuate the switch and interruptrthe' fiow :i'of power to the' r'adio.

Other features includemeans actuated automaticauy by the litting' of the telephone receiver from the telephone to illuminate the dial thereofand means under manual contra-1hr the user of the telephone to restore 'the fio'w of "power to a radio to which the power-has' been interrupted by the lifting bf the receiver of the telephone.

In the drawings, v Eigurel is a'perspective view rot-a telepho'ne attachment embodying the features of this invention showing a telephonegin' place' thereoh, and the attachmenteoupled with the power 'fee'd cable of a radio,

Figure 2 is a top plan view of the accessory with a telephone "indicated thereon in broken lines,

Figure 3 is a longitudinalsectional view taken substantially along the line -3---3 of Figure 2, and

Figure 4 is a wiring diagram illustrating the switching mechanism of the accessory.

Referring to the drawings indetail, a telephone designated generally lll of the conifen tional stylejof a handset is equipped with 'a base I l, a dial [2; a-receiverwand the conventional buttons ll ('Fig. 1) which are normally engaged by the"receiver-when the latter is in place on the base 'to control the-telephonecircuits. "The structure so far recited is of boiivention'al -form and the buttons [4 are located in the conventional manner between upstanding guide ears l5 which cooperate with the top of the base H in forming a cradle' infwh ichthe receiver ts-rests; My improved attachment designated generally l-6 comprises a base 11 termed aiong'hne edg'e with a pedestal 1 8 and an adjoinin mage 1 9. The pedestal 1B is equipped with a -"conve'nt'iona l lamp *socket m for a 'min-iatur'e lanip 2 l, 'an d partially ens'h'rou'ding 'the 1amp 21 is" a hood-E2 having an --epen= s idewhi'ch is d eted toward the *dial I: of thete1epnone it-when the latter isin positi'on on the base. A *conventional switch is mounted inf-the ame -base 'n- -order locally to control he flow of power to the -l'anip Z'l ahdthis switch is equipped wnh fi th his: piece 2 3301 con-venti nal for leading n-em a the lamp base to are conductors 24" and 2'5'which are preferably imbedded in a groove =26 termed in the base -l1 'which eiitendsacross the base 'and opens into a housing to be "more tully hereinai ter de's'cribed. Car'r-iecl'along the side edge 'o'f the b'ase H- 're'mote from the pedestal l8-=is a housing designated generally 21 which "compr ises front and backwalls 28 and-'29 joined by end"wallsandenclosed withina cover 30. --As ill'u'st'rated, a vertical passage 3| extends through the cover- 21 to the interior of the housing near the -front wall 28 and projecting "from the rear wall 29 is: a h'ollow; extension 32 "which is pierced with spaced slots- 33 of the type commonly employed in p1ug=receptac1es Imbedded "in a portion of the covenants-a spring' tongue 34, the free :endof which' is disposed in the uppermost opening esgand a s'iinila'rspring tongue 35' as imbedded in the end wall 29 with its free end disposed in the lower o ening 33 to form contact termini for a a conventional "attachment plug. Each of these spring tongues 34 and 354s eouipped with-{a binding screw 36 fora purpose to be -m'b'le fully hereinafter "explained.

Mdunted spaced brackets 310i insulating material which "extend-upwardly within the housing 2 1 from the base I1 is a pivot shaft '38 upon-which is 'pi'votally'mounted a rocker arm 39. A'leaf spring 40 isfixed to the base I! with one endbearing against the underside of the rocker arm 39 adjacent the end toward the Wall 28, and

this --end o'f '-'the 'i oeker "arm is equipped with a bracket-4| in which is pivotally'mounted as at 42 the lower end of a push rod 43. This push r'od extends upwardly "through the opening '31 and is 'providedwith a"horizontally extending arm-44 which projects toward the lamp bulb 2| and is adaptedto he engaged by the receiver 13 crime telephone when the latter is in place in the cradle formed by the cars 15. It will thus be seen that with the receiver [3 in place on the telephone it the arm 44, push rod 43 and the end of the rocker arm 39 coupled thereto will be depressed against the pressure of the spring 40. The end of the rocker arm opposite that engaged by the spring 40 is equipped with a contact point 45 the purpose of which will be more fully hereinafter explained. A suitable bindin screw 46 enters the spring 49 adjacent the end remote from that engaging the rocker arm 39 and this binding screw is coupled through the medium of a conductor 41 to one terminal of a suitable source of power supply (not shown). Secured to the base I! within the housing 21 and extending upwardly therefrom is a contact support 48 carrying at its upper end a horizontal arm 49 to the underside of which is connected a contact 50 which is located directly above the contact 45 On the arm 39, so that when the arm 39 is moved by the downward movement of the plunger 43, the contacts 45 and 50 will be moved into engagement with one another. A bindin screw is carried by the arm 48 and is connected through the medium of a conductor 52 with the binding screw 36 of the spring tongue 34. The binding screw 36 of the spring tongue 35 is coupled through the medium of a conductor 53 with the conductor 25 which leads to the side of the power source opposite that to which the conductor 41 is connected. As illustrated, the terminal of the conductor 24 opposite that coupled with the lamp 2| leads to a conducting arm 54 carryin a contact 55 which is positioned directly beneath the end of the rocker arm 39 opposite that engaged by the spring 40.

In order to restore the flow of power to the instrument which may have been cut off by the lifting of the receiver from the telephone, I couple to the binding screw 46 a conductor 56 which leads through a suitable switch 51 mounted in the top of the cover 21. The opposite terminal of the switch 5'! is coupled through the medium of the conductor 58 with the conductor 52 and it will thus be seen that even though the flow of current from the power source to the spring tongue 34 may be interrupted by the lifting of the receiver |3 from the telephone, the flow of current may be restored by the user of the telephone simply by closing the switch 51.

A suitable pad 59 of writing paper may be supported on the base 11 adjacent the flange l9 so as to be within convenient reach of the user of the telephone while he is carrying on a conversation.

In use, a radio or like instrument designated generally EU is coupled through a conventional cord 9| equipped with an attachment plug of conventional form to the telephone accessory by entering the prongs of the plug into the openings 33 and into contact with the spring tongues 34 and 35. In this condition, when the telephone receiver I3 is in place on the telephone II], the plunger rod 43 will be depressed so as to move the rocker arm 39 against the effort of the spring 49 and bring the contacts 45 and 50 into engagement with one another. Current may then flow from one terminal of the power source through the conductor 47, spring 40, rocker arm 39, contacts 45 and 5!! and the conductor 52 to the spring tongue 34, returning through the spring tongue 35 and conductor 53 to the conductor 25 from whence it returns to the source of power. Thus, a radio or like instrument plugged into the receptacle may be operated in the normal manner. As soon as the telephone receiver is lifted from the telephone the spring 40 will move the rocker arm 39 about its pivot 38, thus breaking the contact between the contacts 45 and 5D and establishing contact between the contact on the underside of the rocker arm with the contact 55 so that with the switch in the lamp circuit closed, the lamp 2| automatically will be lighted. 0bviously, by opening the switch in the lamp circuit, the illumination may be under direct local control of the user of the telephone. Likewise, by closing the switch 51 the flow of current to the radio or like instrumentmay be restored even though the telephone receiver is off of the telephone and in use Since the switch 51 is carried directly by the accessory it is obvious that it, too, may be locally controlled by the user of the telephone.

While in the foregoing there has been shown and described the preferred embodiment of this invention it is to be understood that minor changes in the details of construction, combination and arrangement of parts may be resorted to without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as claimed.

I claim:

A telephone accessory for a telephone hand set having a dial, said accessory comprising a stand upon which the base of a telephone hand set rests, illuminating means mounted on the base adjacent one side thereof for illuminating the dial of the telephone hand set, a rocker arm mounted in the stand adjacent the side thereof remote from the illuminating means to rock in a vertical arc, an elongated push rod mounted in the stand to move vertically therein, the lower end of said push rod being connected to the rocker arm adjacent one end thereof, a horizontal arm on the push rod adjacent the upper end thereof, said horizontal arm overlying the top of the telephone hand set in the path of movement of the receiver of the hand set during its removal from and replacement on the base, spring means within the stand and engaging the rocker arm to yieldingly urge the push rod upwardly, a contact member within the stand beneath the rocker arm and in the path of movement thereof, said contact being electrically coupled to the illuminating means to establish a fiow of electrical energy therethrough when the rocker arm and push rod move upwardly under the influence of the spring, a second contact within the stand above the rocker arm and in the path of movement thereof, an electric outlet within said stand, said outlet having a pair of spaced plug blade-engaging contacts and means electrically coupling one of said last-named contacts with the secondmentioned contact.

MARSHALL E. BUTLER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,113,537 Boze Oct. 13, 1914 1,893,325 Foster et al. Jan. 3, 1933 1,960,214 Deron May 22, 1934 1,966,184 ONeil July 10, 1934 1,982,457 Schmitt Nov. 27, 1934 2,212,791 Reading Aug. 27, 1940 

